Best Computer programs in Massachusetts, ranked by enrollment
Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors.
60 schools in Massachusetts run programs that feed this job, graduating 10,742 people a year. The job pays a median of $170,510 in Massachusetts across about 1,760 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Massachusetts that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
11 programs in Massachusetts that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Massachusetts (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Massachusetts page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Computer Sciencemain feeder CIP 11.0701In Massachusetts → | 5,223 | 48.6% | 42 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | Computer and Information Sciences, Generalmain feeder CIP 11.0101In Massachusetts → | 2,762 | 25.7% | 26 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | Information Science/Studiesmain feeder CIP 11.0401In Massachusetts → | 635 | 5.9% | 11 | $57,313 | $25,833 |
| 4 | Information Technologymain feeder CIP 11.0103In Massachusetts → | 539 | 5.0% | 15 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 5 | CIP 30.7001In Massachusetts → | 357 | 3.3% | 11 | — | — |
| 6 | Informaticsmain feeder CIP 11.0104In Massachusetts → | 351 | 3.3% | 4 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 7 | Artificial Intelligencemain feeder CIP 11.0102In Massachusetts → | 268 | 2.5% | 7 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 8 | CIP 26.1103In Massachusetts → | 248 | 2.3% | 6 | $72,338 | $18,500 |
| 9 | CIP 51.2706In Massachusetts → | 184 | 1.7% | 6 | $47,775 | $25,000 |
| 10 | CIP 30.3101In Massachusetts → | 152 | 1.4% | 4 | $57,986 | $25,812 |
| 11 | Computer and Information Sciences, Othermain feeder CIP 11.0199In Massachusetts → | 23 | 0.2% | 2 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
Top 25 schools in Massachusetts
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 30 of the 60 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northeastern University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 2,310 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $115,587 | 91% | $18,925 | 5% |
| 2 | Boston University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 8 feeder programs | 1,109 | Computer Science | $90,050 | 89% | $21,956 | 11% |
| 3 | University of Massachusetts - Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 3 feeder programs | 1,051 | Computer Science | $88,554 | 83% | — | 60% |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 834 | Computer Science | $154,492 | 96% | $11,666 | 5% |
| 5 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 576 | Computer Science | $93,888 | 90% | $32,926 | 60% |
| 6 | Tufts University Medford, MA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 500 | Computer Science | $105,659 | 94% | $23,570 | 11% |
| 7 | Clark University Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 495 | Computer Science | — | 77% | $23,332 | 40% |
| 8 | University of Massachusetts - Boston Boston, MA Public · 4 feeder programs | 482 | Computer Science | — | 49% | — | 84% |
| 9 | University of Massachusetts - Lowell Lowell, MA Public · 5 feeder programs | 480 | Computer Science | $86,167 | 65% | — | 83% |
| 10 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 470 | Computer Science | $152,251 | 98% | $15,013 | 4% |
| 11 | Merrimack College North Andover, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 190 | Computer Science | $70,256 | 70% | $33,877 | 70% |
| 12 | Northeastern University Professional Programs Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 171 | Informatics | $115,587 | — | — | — |
| 13 | Brandeis University Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 168 | Computer Science | $80,431 | 86% | $25,074 | 40% |
| 14 | Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA Public · 3 feeder programs | 162 | Computer Science | $30,332 | 13% | — | — |
| 15 | Wentworth Institute of Technology Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 160 | Computer Science | $85,954 | 68% | $32,713 | 91% |
| 16 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 157 | Computer Science | $86,749 | 91% | $21,126 | 16% |
| 17 | University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA Public · 3 feeder programs | 149 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $77,970 | 52% | — | 91% |
| 18 | Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA Public · 2 feeder programs | 117 | Computer Science | — | 55% | — | 87% |
| 19 | Bentley University Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 88 | Computer and Information Sciences, General | $72,227 | 87% | $31,677 | 45% |
| 20 | Smith College Northampton, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 85 | Computer Science | $66,981 | 89% | $17,183 | 21% |
| 21 | Bridgewater State University Bridgewater, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 65 | Computer Science | $57,007 | 53% | — | 88% |
| 22 | Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 63 | Computer Science | $71,672 | 84% | $26,083 | 36% |
| 23 | Williams College Williamstown, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 62 | Computer Science | $110,814 | 94% | $10,747 | 8% |
| 24 | Amherst College Amherst, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 59 | Computer Science | $100,596 | 94% | $16,081 | 9% |
| 25 | Suffolk University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Information Science/Studies | $56,780 | 61% | $28,895 | 82% |
All 60 schools in Massachusetts
Every school in Massachusetts with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern University | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 2,310 | 5 |
| Boston University | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 1,109 | 8 |
| University of Massachusetts - Amherst | Amherst | Public | 1,051 | 3 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Cambridge | Private not-for-profit | 834 | 3 |
| Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester | Private not-for-profit | 576 | 5 |
| Tufts University | Medford | Private not-for-profit | 500 | 4 |
| Clark University | Worcester | Private not-for-profit | 495 | 3 |
| University of Massachusetts - Boston | Boston | Public | 482 | 4 |
| University of Massachusetts - Lowell | Lowell | Public | 480 | 5 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge | Private not-for-profit | 470 | 7 |
| Merrimack College | North Andover | Private not-for-profit | 190 | 2 |
| Northeastern University Professional Programs | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 171 | 2 |
| Brandeis University | Waltham | Private not-for-profit | 168 | 4 |
| Bunker Hill Community College | Boston | Public | 162 | 3 |
| Wentworth Institute of Technology | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 160 | 3 |
What computer and information research scientists earn in Massachusetts
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $140,300. Massachusetts pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Massachusetts employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Massachusetts
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Computer and Information Research Scientists page.
How to become a Computer
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Massachusetts
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 15 majors mapped to Computer and Information Research Scientists14 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
- 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
- 11.0103Information Technology
- 11.0104Informatics
- 11.0199Computer and Information Sciences, Other
- 11.0401Information Science/Studies
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 26.1103Bioinformatics
- 30.3101Human Computer Interaction
- 30.7001Data Science, General
- 30.7099Data Science, Other
- 40.0512Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics(no graduates reported)
- 51.2706Medical Informatics
Common questions
Answers for people weighing computer and information research scientists programs in Massachusetts.
What degree do you need to become a Computer?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 5,223 degrees in Massachusetts in 2024-25, 48.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Computer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 11 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Information Science/Studies, Data Science, plus 3 more. Together they graduate about 10,742 people a year in Massachusetts.
How much do computer and information research scientists earn in Massachusetts?+
The median is $170,510 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.5% above the U.S. median of $140,300. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for computer and information research scientists growing?+
BLS projects a +19.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 3,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Massachusetts?+
60 institutions in Massachusetts reported graduates from at least one of the 11 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do computer and information research scientists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Computer Scientist, Research Scientist, Computer Specialist, Control System Computer Scientist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1221.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card